Thursday, January 31, 2008

Sam loves Penguins. We have several books featuring these delightful arctic creatures. Pingu the Swiss pengiun seemed like he would be a big hit in our house. The Parent Blogger's Network offered up this DVD back in December and we patiently awaited its arrival.

We don't watch much TV at our house (clarification: the kids don't watch much TV. Mom and dad are addicts. And also hypocrites.) I've been trying to slowly phase in a few programs so that Sam doesn't get culture shock in a few years. I like the idea of DVDs because it give me a lot more control over what he's watching, and for how long. The disc is composed of eight short episodes, each running around five minutes long. To me that was a huge plus because we could watch one episode at a time and not OD on the television. Also cool? None of the characters actually speak. Instead they squawk and honk in some oddly humorous penguin dialect. There is also a lot of gesturing and pantomime used in lieu of words to communicate the action of the story.

The first time I popped in Pingu: On Thin Ice for my own viewing, I was enchanted. First off,, the theme song is an excerpt from David Hasselhoff's Pingu Dance rap. I am so not kidding. The show itself was silly fun, and the clay-mation reminded me of episodes of Gumby from my youth. I also dug the family dynamic presented. Even though the father penguin was shown going off to work at the post office, he also did plenty of helping around the house, including the knitting!

While I found these quirky little birds (and seal) entertaining, Sam didn't seem to share my enthusiasm. I wouldn't say he disliked the show, but it didn't really hold his attention well. I think that, at not quite 2, the lack of clear communication made it difficult for him to follow along with the story. He would watch for a minute and then jump off the couch to find some toys. I tried playing it for him several times and at different times of the day, but he just wasn't that into it.

Even though Sam wasn't enthralled with Pingu, I think most kids would love him. He's cute, funny, and a little mischievous. As proof, I checked out the other reviews over at PBN and guess what? He's very popular.

So check him out. Or buy your own copy here. Or drop me a comment or email and maybe a free copy might find its way into your mailbox!

P.S. If you're commenting to win the DVD, please make sure you leave some way for me to contact you. If you don't have an email attached to your Blogger account, then just send me an email me at cheeseparty@gmail.com instead! I'm still waiting to hear from Demi who won a copy of The Ultimate Tea Diet.